Philosophes essays

Philosophes essays Rousseaus view of liberty is a simple yet logical one. He views liberty as a right you are born with. No person has the right to take this liberty you are born with away because no person has more power than another. Only you the owner of your liberty can give your right of liberty away. This in turn leads to his ideas on government. He believes that all people can enter a social contract and each person gives his or her liberty to everyone else upon entering the contract. Any person who does not want to enter this contract is simply excluded from the body of people. This body of people becomes the sovereign and every person is a part of this sovereign under the social compact. This mens that every person will act in the best interests of the entire group. When it comes time for this group to make decisions they follow two rules. The first rule is for voting on very important decisions such as laws: the more important the decision the closer to unanimity. The second is f or dealing with quick decision such as practical affairs: a simple majority will prevail in decisions when concerned with speed. Those are Rousseaus main ideas concerning the formation of a new government. Edmund Burkes beliefs were almost opposite those of Rousseau.. Burke was one of the founding fathers of the conservatism today. Burke believed that the only rights and liberties that a person can possess are those delegated by the constitution. The Declaration of Right instated by William and Mary was meant to preserve religion, laws, and liberties. This did not ever mention the right to overthrow a government and create your own new one. This leads to his belief that a country should have a monarchial form of government. He also thought the good was being replaced by the bad and that violence would break out. He was correct violence broke out shortly after. Rousseau could have easily played a role in influencing the Frenc...